Cycling Culture Branding: Logos
I have a very exciting new branding project on deck right now, and it has permitted me to pretend that all of my looking at pictures of bicycles online is research, and not merely pornography. To provide the best possible service to my client, I aim to become an expert on bicycle branding, and I am bringing you all along for the ride. Special thanks to Boutique Cycles for a nice starting point for this search. This is part one of a series on the branding of cycling, and I will be showcasing some logos:
Benotto has particularly striking head badges, which I will be addressing later on.
This is the logo used for Columbus Tubing; birds seem to be a theme. Lovely.
So quirky, and wonderful.
Chinese brand, I would love one of these bad boys.
Had to do some photoshop wizardry to pull out this one, but it was worth it!
Hufnagel’s branding is the newest here, from the talented Caleb Owen Everitt.
Any of your favorites that I failed to mention? Isn’t bicycle branding beautiful?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
6 Comments
Atala and Rapha are classy, but Campgnolo owns my heart.
So classy that you can’t help and smile.
I think it is because of the quality and effort from Campy in putting that logo onto thier parts that really makes it legendary. No decal, no paint, no stamp. The logo on thier cranks was hand pantographed by the best pantograph machines of the 20th century. The Campy Record 50th anniversary edition has the entire shield pantographed onto a brassy highligh on every part in the range, each one done by hand. You just won’t find that kind of love and pride in craft from any other mass production company. Unless that company is also Italian…
There are so many others; and better is to find the older versions of logos. Bianchi has gone through a bunch of variations over the years, for example. Paul Barnes did the logo for Hampsten Cycles. I tend to take photos of bikes while traveling, so more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hithro/collections/72157600010217659/
@Andrew – Campy is sort of in a class of their own when it comes to extending their brand onto their parts.
@Ben – Thanks a lot for taking the time to comment, and for the link to your photos. Downtube decals and branding is one of the next parts in this series, and I will definitely be including some of your photos, appropriately linked of course.
What about the once-great Raleigh Cycles, of Nottingham, England? (I used to live round the corner from the factory, which sadly isn’t there any more)
See, for instance, this http://tinyurl.com/28quxtv
@Hoppo – Thanks for the input, Hoppo. I have added the Raleigh logo to the post, although I will say that I think it’s a hot mess design wise. It deserves a place for the brand’s overall strength through time though.
And forgot about this: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bicycleheadbadges/